Sahṛdaya: A touchstone for creative imagination

Abstract

The success or fruitfulness of any art depends upon both the artist and the connoisseur. In fact, it is the connoisseurs because of whom a poetry or an art excels and remains forever. Sahdaya, smjika, saceta, bhvaka and rasika are some major terms that have been used for a connoisseur in Sanskrit (poetics or aesthetics) works. It is noteworthy that Indian aesthetics has identified such significance of the connoisseurs and tried to define him. This paper discusses how Indian poetics explains the attributes a connoisseur should have to appreciate any art, with an emphasis on the beauty of the terms sahdaya and bhvaka.